A nine-member Local Government Service Workers Union (LGSWU) executive has called on Hon. Daniel Botwe, to congratulate him on his assumption of duty as the Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development Minister.
The National Chairman of the LGSWU, Eng. Moses Awarikaro who welcomed the Minister requested his intervention on the provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) for Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) assigned at the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
He also called for prompt payment of their allowances, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic as they also fall within the frontline workers category.
Reporting format of EHOs at the assembly level required that officers send a direct report to Ministries of Health and Sanitation on activities relating to these Ministries without copying the Head of Local Government Service.
He, therefore, requested the Minister to ensure a format of reporting that would copy the Head of Local Government Service to harmonise reports at the Assemblies.
This, Eng. Awarikaro also pleaded with the Minister, to use his good office to facilitate desk/liaison officers at the Head of Local Government Service Secretariat to coordinate challenges facing sanitation at the assembly level.
The LGSWU President called on the Minister to intervene in the delay of payment of staff posting grants, which he noted, negatively impact staff transferred from one Assembly to another especially within short intervals.
He pledged the Unions readiness to ensure that members adhere to the code of conduct and ethics of the profession to serve to ensure government deliver on its mandate.
Hon. Daniel Botwe promised to cross-check with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the National COVID Committee on the challenges EHOs grapple with PPEs and if possible work out special deliveries of same for their safety.
He called for a paper from the LGSWU, detailing the discrepancies among Assembly staff working in the health and sanitation sectors to put in place measures that would help facilitate their safety.
He also suggested the Office of the Local Government Service budget for staff posting grants and not rely solely on the Assemblies to curb delays in funding transfer grants.
